So you want to "own " your own company

Need to more about your planned operation. What kind of trailer do you plan to pull and where? Are you planning to lease on to a company or get your own authority? What do you plan on hauling? I would keep at least 12k in reserves personally. It will make any future breakdown far more bearable.

 

Why would he need quick pay or factoring to be LEASED to Landstar? It's not possible.

 

Thx. So maybe I should use the cash as collateral on a bigger loan?

 

I meant to write if he was using brokers instead of being leased, sorry I wasn't clear. You're right, as a lease op he wouldn't need a factor.

 

As 40 cal said, it depends on what you intend to do. If you're going to run your own authority you'll want a decent lump of cash for initial operating expenses and a maintenance account (especially with a used truck). I don't think you'll find decent truck and trailer for 24k that doesn't need some work. Even if you do, you'll need to pay for insurance, permits, fuel, taxes (like 2290), authority applications, and other start up costs. You might be able to get by with $35k-$40k if you get a good used truck, an older van or reefer, and can get decent rates on insurance.

Do you have any direct freight to haul if you want to go independent? It's tough to survive on load boards alone.

 

I want to haul dry van general freight all 48 out of georgia. The only brokers I know of is ch robison. I'm not worried about the paperwork fees, boc 3 , mc, ifta, insurance etc because from what I understand its the cheap part of the process. Paying for the trk n trler is my focus at this time. Maybe go to freightliner with 7500$ dwn on something 30-40k an pay for trailer around 5k cash, keeping about 5k for breakdown and the rest on paperwork?? I could use some input...

 

Sounds like a good start, sure. IRP (base plates) for all 48 states will probably be about $2000 to start with, and could go down on year 2 forward since you will have actual miles from year 1. Insurance for primarily liability and cargo ($1 mil / $100k) will probably be at least $5k but likely more. You can plan on paying about 2 months to get insurance going with most companies. Will you need tires, brakes, etc? Before you run your equipment must have current annual inspections.

Also don't forget to include costs with getting your business entity set up if you're going with an LLC or corp. If you want a decent deal on truck and trailer lettering, send me a PM and I will give you a name and number to a vinyl shop that will do lettering for truck and trailer for about $150 if you want basic fonts. They're very competitive.

Before you buy the truck and trailer, take them in for inspections, or ask the dealer to DOT them. That will uncover potential deficiencies.

Join OOIDA and get BOC-3 for free. File the authority application yourself and save money. It's easy to do online. You also will need IFTA and UCR but those are relatively small costs.

Sit down and write a start up model and include all costs. They add up fast, so it'll really help to get it all down on paper. Many folks recommend that new carriers have 60-90 days of operating capital before starting. If you need to use a factor check them out and try to find one that doesn't require a long term contract. Hopefully you won't need a factor for a whole year, but if you contract one for a year you could be stuck with them and they pretty much call the shots as to who you can and can't run for.

OOIDA offers a lot of very helpful video webinars. They aren't cheap but some of them could be very helpful to you at this stage. Find those at this link: https://www.ooida.com/OOIDA Foundation/Webinar/enroll-current.shtml

Some other costs that are frequently forgotten about are:

Oregon Bond ($2000), Kentucky (KYU), New Mexico, Franchise taxes for New Mexico, New Jersey, and Nebraska, Ad Valorem tax for Arkansas / Kansas.

 

Insurance say 1200 dwn 1mil coverage cargo included. Here's what my plan looks like so far for startup and its a ruff draft...1200 insurance 2k base plates and trailer plates, 1800 taxes-ifta permits@authority. That leaves 20k for trk trailer @ fuel. If I buy cash itll probably be a cheap pile of crappy truck. If I go to freightliner I MAY get a warranty on a 35k truck( i wont finance anything more) or I can go to my bank with the $$ andfinance threw them. Good used dry vans are on truckertotrucker.com for 5k. The rest is for fuel and emergency breakdown if there's any left. That's the best plan I have so far.

 

If I were you, unless you plan on picking up some direct business, I'd lease to a percentage company like Landstar, or the like. It will make the startup far easier, less costly and finding good freight is far easier in a system like that. If you decide to venture on from there under your own authority, you'll have already learned preferred lanes, most likely have some agents that you can call on as an outside carrier, and you'll have experience except for the paper pushing. I had my authority for 7 years with multiple trucks, and I've been at LS for three. I've yet to find something better for my style of trucking. If you're planning on running 48 states, keep in mind on Jan 1 2014, any truck that doesn't have a DPF will not be able to operate in California. So you will need a minimum of a 2008 w/DPF truck.
Financing a truck as a startup is not easy. I would look towards your local bank and see if they will do it, otherwise there are finance companies that specialize in startups, but offer high percentage rates. Selecttrucks, Arrow, Lone Mountain, etc.
In all honesty, regional runs pay the best in dryvan, so maybe an older truck might work better for you. That is your call. There is a ton of information on this site for you to read and learn. Don't do anything hasty, because first and foremost, you are starting your own business, not just buying a truck.

 

Fortycal, that 2014 deal is just for California right?